In industrial settings in which machines generate dust and other types of waste particulate matter, air filtration and dust collection are mandatory to insure the proper operation of the machines as well as the health and safety of the machine operator. Despite the demand for equipment which will filter the air and collect the particulate matter filtered therefrom, development of such equipment has not occurred to the extent of the needs of such industries. One prior art collector illustrates an attempt to answer the filtration and collection needs of the various industries. That collector is the "Self-Cleaning Air Filter" described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,846 issued May 27, 1980, to David L. Brenholt, one of the inventors of the present invention.
The air filter of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,846 patent was an advance in the state of the art at the time of its invention. However, despite solving the basic problems of the filtration requirements and meeting the collection requirements of the industrial settings, certain limitations in the patented apparatus have become evident. It is believed that the present invention achieves the required filtration and collection demands addressed by the patented apparatus without the existence of the limitations of the earlier apparatus.